The Gas We Pass

Polluters can offset their greenhouse gas emissions for activities like traveling, powering a home, and now even passing gas. Easy Being Green, an Australian company, now sells credits to people who want to give the gift of offsets for gassy people and pets. Turns out that when a friend or Fido cuts the cheese, he or she emits carbon dioxide and methane—two greenhouse gases that significantly contribute to global warming.

Company spokesperson Murray Hogarth concedes that the "flatulence cards" fall on the "gimmicky" side of the company's otherwise serious product line, which is designed to help consumers and small businesses address greenhouse gas emissions.

Together with its attention-grabbing flatulence cards and other offset programs, the company says on its website that so far it has “reduced 620,000 tonnes of CO2 pollution per year, the equivalent to taking 150,000 cars off the road.” And that’s in addition to saving Australians $32.3 million on energy bills.

Hey, if people can buy offsets for releasing gas into the air when driving, why shouldn’t they be allowed by buy offsets when releasing gas into the air, um, any other time?